Senators summon McHugh to explain exoneration of battle commanders

Five senators are pressing Army Secretary John McHugh to meet with them and
explain the Army’s decision to override the findings of an independent
investigation into a deadly battle in Wanat, Afghanistan.

Nine U.S. soldiers were killed during the four-hour
firefight at a remote outpost in Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan on July 13,
2008. The battle — which was prompted by a surprise insurgent attack — also
left more than 30 U.S. and Afghan troops wounded. About 200 enemy
fighters attacked the troops as they were working to set up a combat outpost.

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Following a request from Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), the U.S. Central Command
conducted a three-month independent investigation of the battle, which faulted
the company, battalion and brigade commanders for poor planning. The
investigation concluded the commanders were “derelict in the performance of
their duties through neglect or culpable inefficiency.”

As a result of these findings, the Army initially issued letters of reprimand
to all three officers, but then reversed its decision and annulled all three
letters following further review. The families of the nine soldiers killed at
Wanat are trying to fight the Army’s decision not to reprimand the commanders,
and have some strong congressional allies to back their efforts.

“Family members of the deceased who have contacted our offices have expressed
their concerns over what they see as the Army’s failure to hold commanders
accountable and the resulting likelihood that similar tragedies will occur,”
the senators wrote to McHugh. “Given the depths of their concerns, we consider
it necessary for you to address them, to inform us of your views on the
principle of command accountability, and to describe how the Army is applying
the lessons learned at the battle of Wanat.”

The families of the fallen soldiers were briefed in June about the CENTCOM investigation
at Fort McPherson, Ga. It was during the same meeting that Gen. Charles
Campbell, now the former head of Forces Command, told the families that he was
reversing the decision to punish the officers, according to media reports.
Campbell was assigned to review the CENTCOM investigation prior to his
retirement.

Campbell justified his decision to exonerate the three officers on the basis
that they exercised “a degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would
have exercised under the same or similar circumstances.”

Some family members have since called for McHugh or Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates to reverse Campbell’s decision.